


Linger

by KatzoutoftheBag



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: 90s, AU, M/M, Teacher Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-07-20
Packaged: 2018-02-09 18:47:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1993884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatzoutoftheBag/pseuds/KatzoutoftheBag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young English teacher Will Graham is surprised by a pleasant visit from a former favourite student, Frederick Chilton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Linger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



Will Graham sat in the tiny office he shared with the rest of the English department - three young women and a much older man - reading over the lesson plans he'd crafted for his afternoon classes. As he did many days, he took his lunch at his cluttered desk, enjoying the quiet of the space as his colleagues either taught or took their break in the staff room. He had a good ten minutes of quiet left, ten minutes in which to prepare himself for the handful that was his 11th grade English class. He had planned for a discussion of the implications of the final scenes of Othello, knowing full well the majority of his class would not have finished reading it yet. Even still, he was always prepared, and had an exhaustive list of probing questions to get his students thinking and talking. If the class proved as they so often did that they had not cared enough to complete their reading on time, Will would simply call it a reading period and take the additional time to grade another class's tests.

At the sound of a gentle knock at the door, Will uttered a friendly "Come in," laying his pen down and glancing up at the door over his glasses. A young man opened the door and took a single step in, smiling broadly. It only took Will a moment to recognize the man who stood in the doorway, though his beard and his matured features had changed him remarkably. Will's stomach fluttered at the sight of him, and his own face broke into a smile.

"Frederick!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, Mr. Graham," Frederick Chilton replied, his voice rich with a new confidence, though he still reached self-consciously across his body to rub his arm, an echo of the shy boy who Will had taught - _what was it, two years ago now?_

Will couldn't help the rush he felt at seeing his former student again, older, more handsome, here to see him. Will laughed off his momentary stupor and crossed the small office to Frederick.

"What a surprise," he said, reaching to give the younger man a pat on the shoulder. "What brings you here?"

"Just wanted to pay a visit to my favourite teacher," Frederick responded with a smirk. Will's smile broadened, and he gave a laugh.

"You're only calling me that because I let you off so _easy,_ " he joked. Frederick had in fact been an excellent student, attentive and intelligent, and very focused. Will had kept copies of some of his papers as examples for students looking to bump up their average. Frederick had known he was one of the best students in the class, and Will had always loved to tease him.

The younger man's smile was so familiar, though changed by the handsome, neat beard that framed it. It gave angles to an otherwise soft, gentle face. Will felt a rush as he remembered the times the young man's handsomeness had caught him off-guard during classes; they had only been five years apart, though it felt like a much larger gap due to Will's position. He had chastised himself every time he had noticed the warmth in Frederick's clear eyes, or the way the light through the classroom window would hit the softness of his cheek, framing him in a radiant glow. He had outright hated himself whenever he'd noticed the sturdiness of Frederick's shoulders, or the muscles of his neck, or the shape of his ass. He had been 18, Will a new teacher at 23, and though those numbers had fought in Will's mind to assure him _it wasn't so bad,_ Will had tried his hardest to shove those thoughts to the furthest corners of his mind. Standing here now, in front of a 20-year-old Frederick Chilton, they snuck unbidden back into his consciousness.

"Yeah, sure," Frederick said with an eyeroll, folding his arms across his chest. "Mr. Graham, always looking for the subtext."

Will laughed, nodding, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, _English teacher..._ "

"Mmhm, mmhm. Hey, this place really hasn't changed at all, huh?" Frederick remarked, still grinning his contagious grin, looking around the office. Aged and outdated Read posters still hung where they had been stuck up years earlier, and teaching certificates in inappropriately tiny frames hung in odd configurations on the dull walls, as Frederick remembered. Will's desk was as messy as it had been any time the younger man had stopped in with a question for his teacher.

"Uh, nope," Will agreed, taking a look around. "Still a palace."

"Honestly, I didn't know if I'd find you here," Frederick admitted, smiling slightly. "I mean, I'm glad I did, but I kind of half-thought you'd be off somewhere on the Mediterranean, researching for your book."

Will's stomach leapt at the words. He hadn't told many people about his novel, though Frederick had been one of them. He had told him a little about the story in his mind, and about the trip he hoped to take to experience the parts of the world he would be writing about, for authenticity and for indulgence.

"You remember that?"

"Of course," he said, nodding. "I've always been sort of waiting to hear news about it – the book, I mean."

Will felt his face flush, flattered at Frederick's words. He looked away, his smile stretching clean across his face, and he felt the familiar embarrassment that came along with his fondness for the young man.

"Well, nothing to report on that subject – yet," Will admitted, looking back at Frederick. "I mean, I've got a solid outline, but, still waiting on that trip."

"What are you waiting for?" Frederick prodded, his tone filled with genuine encouragement. "You're young, um – unattached," he went on, glancing at Will's left hand, "and you've got a really fantastic idea."

"Are you in the travel and tourism industry, by any chance?" Will teased, brushing off the subject to give his flushed cheeks a rest. "Really, though – what are you up to? Are you studying...?"

"Medicine," Frederick supplied, nodding. Will's eyebrows shot up.

"Medicine?" he asked, his surprise evident. "I'd have thought you'd have gone into an American Literature program, or..."

"I did," Frederick went on, "and a semester in decided I couldn't deal with the pressure from my folks anymore. Family of doctors, you know. And besides, none of the professors had anything on you."

Will's stomach swooped. Frederick continued without pause.

"So, I picked up a few credits and transferred to Johns Hopkins."

Will laughed, shaking his head.

"Wow. Congratulations, kid, that's really fantastic."

It was Frederick's turn to flush. Will watched the pink rise in the other man's cheeks and felt a pull.

"Thanks, Mr. Graham."

"I mean it," Will continued. "I'm proud of you."

Frederick folded his arms tighter across his chest, smiling with another trace of his former school-age shyness.

"I hoped you would be."

The ring of the bell made both men jump, and just like that, Will's concentration had snapped back to his obligations.

"Shoot. I've got a class," he said apologetically, looking up at the clock and heading to his desk to gather his binder.

"Oh, hey, no problem."

Will looked up at Frederick from his desk, taking in the sight of the attractive young man he'd taught years earlier, who had grown into himself, but remained the same kind, good-humoured kid he'd admired in his classes. He was struck with a sadness imagining that this might be it for their visit, all because of the ringing of the bell. He didn't know what they might have to continue to talk about, but Will felt the pressing urge to ensure that they had the chance to.

"Listen, uh – I've got this class, and then another, but...I mean, if you wanted to stick around, maybe we could grab a bite or something, after school?"

Will was stunned at his own boldness, and immediately filled with the dread that Frederick might say no. He could have drastically misread the situation. Had he over-stepped his bounds? Was it appropriate _at all_ for him to –

"Absolutely," Frederick responded, smiling.

Relief washed over Will in a torrent, trailed by a bubbling feeling of excitement.

"Oh – good. Okay."

"I'll pick you up after the last bell?"

Will nodded, heading to the doorway with an armful of class materials.

"Yeah, yup. Sounds good."

Frederick backed out of the doorway to give Will room to pass, and flashed him another smile.

"See you then, then."

Will smiled back, giving a nod and a brief goodbye before heading down the corridor toward his classroom. He felt a sense of exhilaration after his exchange with Frederick, and with the knowledge that they'd be continuing their catch-up in just a few hours. As he entered his classroom along with a gaggle of rowdy teenagers, he assured himself he was merely excited at the prospect of catching up with a former favourite student. That was it, he was certain.

As he laid out his materials on the desk at the front of the classroom, he could still see Frederick's bright smile behind his eyes.


End file.
